Friday Five: Brexit, Entrepreneurs, Robots and More

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It’s been a tough week. Terrorist attacks across in Iraq, Bangladesh and Turkey, and fatal shootings of US citizens by police and police by citizens have dominated headlines. I’m sure that like me, you’ve had trouble staying focused on work. But there’s a certain comfort in thinking about other things in times like these; work can become a way to recharge our batteries, a kind of escape from harder news. Well, this week I don’t have a theme, just a handful of interesting reads for you, on a variety of topics. Some reads to take your mind off of harder things.

The recent shooting deaths of two black men by police and the overnight shootings of police in Dallas will likely be a topic of conversation at work today and throughout next week. This FastCompany piece on conscientious citizen activism is a good resource that you can share with your colleagues and employees.

McKinsey analyzes what sectors are most vulnerable to automation and what jobs could be completely replaced by robots, and they do this by concentrating less on the jobs themselves and more on work activities.

Watches and other popular wearables could be compromising your data security, according to a new study. This is due to the motion detection data many of them gather, as pins and passwords could be inferred based on recorded hand movements. Considering the ever-growing popularity of wearables at work, this is a story that IT and HR should be following.

According to a new study entrepreneurship depends on the cost of college — make it cheaper and you’ll see more entrepreneurs. It’s not just because cheaper college makes it easier for more people to get an eduction, but also because parents of college age kids are more able to take career risks and start their own businesses.